Why it is Awesome: Expedition GeForce

Ever since it opened Expedition GeForce is praised as one of the best Roller Coasters in the World, ranking consistently in the Top 10 in the Golden Ticket Awards, placed as Europe’s best Steel Coaster 11 years in a row. In Addition it won the Best Roller Coaster Poll 5 Times, with the first 4 being also being in a row. The Stats make it look rather unimpressive, just 53m in Height, 120 km/h and 1.220m of Track. So why is Expedition GeForce still considered to be one of the best Roller Coasters in the World despite being almost 20 Years old? Because Stats don’t tell the whole story and they don’t matter anyway.

Expedition GeForce has three major things going for it that Stats can never properly reflect: Location, Layout and overall Fun. Holiday Park has a lot of Trees on their Property, and a ride on Expedition GeForce has you flying on top and in between Treetops and it takes you briefly over a lake. Over the years these Trees even created some decent near-miss effects, most notably in the turn following the firs, often inactive, Trim Brake. And it all fits into a fairly small plot of Land for a Coaster of this size. The first drop is a major part in achieving the small footprint. Instead of simply following a straight line after the Lift Hill, Expedition GeForce pulls of it’s ultimate Party Trick: The track twists to the right at 90 degrees while descending at 82 degrees, when you sit in the back you get the unique sensation of Airtime while being thrown to the side at the same time. It’s my overall favorite drop on any Coaster I have ridden so far because it is a unique experience. Other drops may have more Airtime, others might be steeper, and even the amazing Lech Coaster that has a very similar, but smaller, drop isn’t doing it as great as Expedition GeForce. The Layout that follows is Jam-Packed with 7 Airtime Moments, according to the rides German Wikipedia Entry hitting as low as -1.1 G, very intense valleys and turns with up to 4.5 G of Positive Forces and even a fairly snappy right-to-left transition on top of a Airtime Hill. The Finale is two sets of two Airtime Hills connected by a left turn, the first of these Hills is under the support structure of the very first Airtime Hill giving you some of the best Head chopper effects out there. The Layout never feels too repetitive and it avoids any filler sections to lengthen the ride time.

And this variety in the Layout that alternates between fast, high intensity turns and great moments of Airtime, the location in between Trees, the fairly high Average Speed and that amazing first drop truly make Expedition GeForce one of the best Coasters around. Is it still the best Roller Coaster in the World? Not really, but there is no point in denying that it deserved all the praise it got back when it was new. And even though it is usually running with just one train for years now and the track could use a new coat of paint to bring it back to it’s original bright orange glory it once had, Holiday Park is putting their effort where it matters: Keeping the Ride a smooth experience. It just doesn’t feel like a old ride, it is still as smooth as I remember it from back in it’s early years, nothing feels shaky or rough during the ride. Given how great Expedition GeForce is, it is a shame that Holiday Park itself is just a average Park overall at best, but then again ever since ownership of the Park went to the Plopsa Group they moved into a way more Family oriented direction than it once was. If you have the chance to visit, do it none the less, Expedition GeForce alone is well worth the price of admission alone.